Radeon HD 5850 vs Radeon Vega 8 (integrated)

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon HD 5850 scores 2.2 and the Radeon Vega 8 (integrated) scores 2, which makes the Radeon HD 5850 about 10% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The Radeon HD 5850 has 1 GB of video memory and the Radeon Vega 8 (integrated) has shared GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (5 against 9 fps), and the smallest is in Minecraft: Java Edition (45 against 42 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon HD 5850 is rated at 151 W and the Radeon Vega 8 (integrated) at 15 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 550 W for the first and 450 W for the second. A gap of 136 W shows up in heat and fan noise, and in your electricity use over a few years.

We do not have launch prices for both cards, so we cannot compare value. Check current listings for both.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon HD 5850 if you want the faster card, and it also has at least as much memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon Vega 8 (integrated) if the price gap matters more than the 10% speed difference, or if you want lower power draw and a quieter PC. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.